2 Nigerians Arrested By Canadian Police in $10m Credit Card Fraud

The police in Toronto, Canada, have arrested two Nigerians and are on the hunt for two other persons in a massive investigation into credit card and identity theft fraud dubbed Project Royal.

In a statement Tuesday, the police said the investigations began in 2016 following the suspects’ “high-profile lifestyle of conspicuous consumption fuelled by the proceeds of identity theft and fraud”.

The suspects are Adedayo Ogundana, 45, also known as Oladipupo Ogund; Adekunle Johnson Omitiran, 37; Duro Akintola, 44, of Toronto, who is also known as Michie Noah; and Emmanuel Salako, 47, who is also known as Gee Salaq. They are reported to have scammed residents of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and environs of over $10m.

According to Canada’s The Star, Toronto police arrested Ogundana on December 13, 2016, and he has been charged with two counts of fraud of over $5,000; 10 counts of fraud under $5,000; possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000; and possession of proceeds of crime.

He is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday while Omitiran who turned himself in to police on April 27, will be arraigned on Friday.

Below is a video of a news conference by the Toronto Police after the bust was made at aorkville condominium that is believed to be “under the control” Omitiran.

Items found in the raid include $39,000 in cash, $310,000 worth of watches and about $390,000 worth of clothing, jewelry, accessories, liquor and a number of notebooks containing the personal information of at least 5,000 GTA residents, said Det. Sgt. Ian Nichol.

Police are of the opinion that Omitiran had ties to people with “legitimate” access to identity information. Efforts are underway to track down those people.

“Thousands of individuals across the GTA have had their information compromised,” said Det. Const. Mike Kelly.

Meanwhile, a warrant has been issued for Akintola; while Salako, who has been indicted by the United States Postal Inspection Service in Chicago under the name George Salako, is also wanted in the U.S.